A Caged Population

UPDATE (8/19/15): Reporting from DailyNK says that North Korea's new border fence with China has been completed in Ryanggang Province. I finished mapping the border fences and I can attest that in the past the fence was indeed incomplete. There were a lot of gaps and areas where it had been cut or otherwise destroyed. Based on available imagery, there are still a lot of areas in the north that lack fencing.

Map of all known border and coastal fences. Click for larger view.

As I said in my previous post, movement in and around North Korea is heavily controlled. Not only are there road blocks, check points, travel document requirements and so forth, there is also a network of fences which ring the whole nation.

These fences were built in earnest during the period of the 1990s famine and range from a simple fence to complex mixes of wire fences, electric fences, sand berms and concrete walls, especially along the Chinese-Korean Border and DMZ. However, much of the northern border fences construction was done on the Chinese side over fears of instability within the DPRK. Portions of the fence are constantly being maintained and upgraded while others are in fairly bad shape.

The North Korean government claims the fences have been built for national defense purposes and to protect ocean wildlife from poaching. Many outside observers say that the real motivation was to keep people from fleeing and to control the fish supply so that the elites and military received food resources first.

This large-scale image shows a green band along the beach. The fences (like the DMZ) have acted like unintentional wildlife preserves since new construction and even wandering around most beaches has been prevented. The first non-border fences were constructed around coastal cities to keep people from sailing off. I will focus this post on the coastal fences since they help highlight the human-rights abuses within the country.

This next image is a close-up of a fence.

Here we can see a fence at a better angle to give you a sense of its height as well as the guardhouse, most of which are located in cities and villages.

This image is of a small village located on a tiny peninsula on North Korea's northeastern coast. You can see the village is almost completely surrounded.

Finally, we have a fence with a small guard-post. Guard-posts are located at varying intervals depending on terrain and the regional population. The fence cuts across a river bed and it appears that section is either not finished or perhaps has been washed away from flooding.

(For updated information and access to the complete fence system via Google Earth, please read North Korea's Great Barrier, Jan. 2018.)

Additional Reading:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/31/north-korea-culture-war_n_2389810.html

--Jacob Bogle, 2/28/2013
www.JacobBogle.com
Facebook.com/JacobBogle
Twitter.com/JacobBogle

Trik Download Super Kencang Menggunakan IDM 6.15 Final Build 2

Sudah punya Internet Download Manager 6.15 Final Build 2? tapi belum puas juga dengan kecepatan download? Nih satu lagi tips dari saya gimana agar IDM bekerja maksimal, download file yang berukuran ber-'Gigabyte' tidak perlu menunggu seharian, cukup dengan sebatang rokok dan secangkir kopi panas... ^_^ 
Langsung aja gan...

• Buka link dimana file akan di download kemudian download seperti biasa.
• Pada saat proses download berlangsung, buka IDM 6.15.
• Pilih tab Download, kemudian option

Pilih tab Download >>option

• Kemudian pilih tab Connection.
• Pada Connection Type/Speed ganti menjadi LAN 10Mbps.
• Pada Default max. con. number rubah menjadi 16.

Ganti yang dilingkari merah

• Langkah selanjutnya beralih ke proses download (lihat gambar di bawah)
• pada jendela download, pilih tab Speed limiter.
• Centang Use Speed Limiter
• Pada Maximum download speed ganti nilainya menjadi 999999 (sampai memenuhi kotak)
• Centang Remember Speed Limiter setting for this file...

Ganti yang dilingkari merah

• Selesai

Sekarang coba kalian lihat perbedaan kecepatan dowloadnya, bagaimana? 

(untuk melihat perbedaannya coba kembalikan lagi menjadi 10 pada angka 1 gambar di atas)

nb : Langkah tersebut dilakukan setiap kali mendownload.

indahnya berbagi...

Semoga bermanfaat ^_^

Road Blocks and Restricted Travel

In the United States and much of the free world, you can travel from town to town visiting friends and family. You can also travel from state to state without ever needing to worry about having travel documents or being questioned by the government. Things aren't so simple in North Korea.

The government controls every aspect of life and freedom of movement simply doesn't exist, except for the ruling family alone. If you want to go to a different city to visit family - you need travel papers. If you want to stay the night - you'll need additional approval. The country is filled with checkpoints and road blocks, especially as you make your way toward important cities, factories, and even the beach.

Road blocks typically consist of a series of large concrete blocks perched on top of a ledge so that they can be felled within moments and prevent an invading army from advancing...or to keep the people boxed in. Most of these road blocks are along the DMZ with South Korea (who has their own version of them) and so that can be understandable. After all, the two countries are still technically at war. Unfortunately for the citizens of the north these road blocks aren't confined to the border. There are also a number of them throughout the country, guarding mountain passes, on roads leading to the coast and at times in random places with no discernible justification.

Then you have the myriad of checkpoints. These are little more than a gate with a small guardhouse. Although they may not provide any resistance to an army on the move they do help to enforce the people controls that mark much of like in the DPRK. You can find them scattered everywhere but especially near factories, other important sites and the beach (to keep people from simply fleeing).

This image is of one such road block near the southern border. As you can see, these are very large blocks that would easily block a road for quite some time.

The image below is a sample region immediately adjacent to the DMZ on the North Korean side. Each icon represents a road block. There are hundreds of them over the course of the full 160 mile long DMZ.

Here are some examples of road blocks as seen from satellite imagery:

You can see a series of small squares on either side of the road. The line moving vertically is a double fence. This road block is accompanied by a guardhouse and military unit with a series of trenches cut into a small hill on the upper left. 

And in this image taken during winter you can clearly see the shadow cast by the road block. 

Below is an example of a gatehouse which guards an expansive area containing coal mines and other industrial buildings. You can see two small trucks lined up to leave the area.

Finally, we have a road block on a beach. This is part of an extensive network of gates and fences which will be the subject of my next post. People must check in and out in order to simply go out and fish (notice the small fishing boats on the tidal mud flats).

--Jacob Bogle, 2/26/2013

www.JacobBogle.com

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Mapping Project Update 1

In 2005 Mike Ane started a file containing several hundred locations of interest and then in 2007 Curtis Melvin and his associates at www.NKeconWatch.com greatly expanded the file by mapping the economic, cultural and military sites of North Korea using Google Earth. Their work brought to light thousands of locations and their KMZ file has been downloaded well over 151,000 times. However, as I would look over the country, I would spot something they had missed, and then it dawned on me that no private citizen (to my knowledge) has ever gone through the whole of North Korea, literally square mile by square mile, and marked every single item of interest.

So, a few months ago, I decided to take on that challenge. The work of Curtis and another avid GE user ( "Planeman_") laid the foundation and their descriptions taught me a lot about what places look like. For example, what an anti-aircraft artillery site looks like from aerial imagery, what an electric sub-station looks like, monuments, train stations and so forth. Building on that knowledge and what I have learned through hundreds of hours of research, I have been able to mark thousands of new places without duplicating the findings of others. 

This has been and continues to be a tremendous undertaking, but I think it is very important to shed light on a country so few know anything about. Even since Google Maps began, there was always a black hole in their data - North Korea - and it wasn't until a few weeks ago that Google began filling in the blanks, largely thanks to the work of individuals submitting information. It is my hope that in time North Korea opens up as a country, but until that time comes, I consider it worthwhile to use technology to reach out from my computer to data gathered from space and pull North Korea (or at least what I find) out of the void and bring it to the world. 

North Korea is divided into 9 provinces, 2 special cities, and the capital district. There is also the DMZ (Demilitarized Zone) which I count as its own geographic division. Each area has its own file which is then subdivided in categories: Military, Monuments and Domestic. Each category may have further sub-categories such as: Sub-stations, Irrigation control and Dams, AAA sites, Road & Rail Tunnels etc. I have been making use of the placemark icons and try to make them self-explanatory and use one icon for each different type of location to avoid confusion.  

The image below is a screenshot of all the places I've marked (excluding completed areas). Obviously, it looks like a mess and you're only seeing a handful of individual sites since they're all piled on top of each other, but I think it gives you some idea of what I've been doing and talking about for so long. 

(click for larger)

I have started files on almost every area and completed the DMZ, the Rason Special City and Ryanggang Province. It is my intention to publish the files once I am closer to completing the project, although I may publish what areas I've finished sooner. 

With completed divisions and the portions of partially completed divisions combined, I estimate that I am 25% finished and have marked roughly 2,200 items. The completed areas cover nearly 6,000 sq miles of territory out of NK's total land area of 46,541 sq miles. Due to the lower quality of some of the data there will be portions that have very few placemarks simply because the resolution is so low that specific individual items can't always be identified.

--Jacob Bogle, 2/24/13
www.JacobBogle.com
Facebook.com/JacobBogle
Twitter.com/JacobBogle

You can use the hashtag #AccessDPRK when discussing on social media.

Propaganda from Space

If North Korea had a state religion the "Art of Propaganda" would be its bible.

Propaganda in North Korea is everything. It is spewed from the mouths of teachers from your first year in school all the way to college professors. It comes from every TV and radio station (all state owned), every newspaper and magazine (likewise state owned) and is plastered across the landscape. There are an estimated 50,000 statues and murals dedicated to Kim Il-sung, and Kim Jong-il and they are placed in even the most remote locations. There are also countless signs that are splashed along the sides of hills and mountains, on the sides of roads and peppered throughout city streets. A large number of these are so large they can be seen from space.

The signs often promote the "strength and prosperity" of the nation or extol the virtues of the country's leadership. From time to time they call on the people to work harder, exceed quotas, raise better crops and obey without question the orders of the Worker's Party of Korea.

Here are a few examples: "Let us march forward with the tactics of the three generations' revolution!", "Long Live the Juche Ideology!", "What the Party decides, we shall do!", "Unite as with one mind", "Let's make our own rebirth!" and "Let us plant more trees!" among many, many others.

(click for larger views)

This one was located at a mine. Each slogan is around 100 feet long and are carved (and painted) into the hillside. I haven't been able to find a translation for this.

This is an example of the type that can be seen along the hillsides of nearly every town and village. Due to its angle it's impossible to know for sure what it says. The slogan is 400 feet long.

Military bases are not immune. This sign is 700 feet long. 

And finally, we have a sign 1,800 feet long with each letter being 200 feet tall. This one was built within the last year along a hillside next to a brand new, massive, hydroelectric plant. It says, "Long live Songun Korea's General Kim Jong Un!". Kim Jong-un is the current leader of the country and the grandson of its founder.

Here is a site with many more similar signs as well as translations for several of them: http://freekorea.us/north-korea-faq/signs

--Jacob Bogle, 2/23/2013

www.JacobBogle.com

Facebook.com/JacobBogle

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Tulisan belum Berjudul (2)

Kamarku masih gelap, ketika alarm di handphone tiba-tiba berteriak marah seolah ingin menyiramku dengan segayung air seperti yang Bu’e lakukan dulu ketika malas bangun pagi. Atau seperti Pa’e  yang tiba-tiba menyapu rata mukaku dnegan bekas air wudhu yang masih ada di mukanya. Ketika kecil, aku sering bersungut-sungut tak karuan ketika mimpi-mimpi indahku tiba-tiba harus hilang karena sapuan air. Tapi kini, aku harus berjuang sendiri melawan malas, meski kadang tiap hari harus berurusan dengan SAMSUNG ku yang sangat cerewet jika jam menunjukkan pukul 07:01.  Agak aneh memang, biasanya di Jambi aku menyudahi tidurku sebelum jam 05:00, terbangun untuk melaporkan kondisiku pada penguasa Pagi dan Malam. Atau jika aku rajin, aku terkandang bangun lebih awal untuk bersapa manja bertahajud ria dengan Sang Pencipta Fajar.

Dengan marah aku pencet HP ku yang masih berteriak lantang, semakin ku pencet semain keras suara yang ia keluarkan, hampir saja kubanting tapi aku masih ingat kalau ia ngambeg, tak mungkin aku bisa berbicara pada Bu’e dan Pa’e setiap dua hari sekali. Dan akhirnya pada percobaanku yang ke-tiga, alarm di cell phone tewas kubuat. Dengan bangganya aku kembali menyibak selimut tebal untuk melajutkan sequel episode yang terputus, …”tidak….. apa kau ingin kehilangan subuhmu Dhe-dhe…..” entah dari mana datangnya suara itu tapi yang jelas, bisikan itu sangat keras, sehingga membuat aku tersentak dan seakan tersadar akan suatu janji yang lupa aku tepati. Aku lihat jadwal sholat di atas meja “The Islamic Society of Greater Lansing, Athan Timings” aku urut table kecil-kelcil lalu kucari February 22, Fajr 06:17 sunrise: 07:24. Alhamdulillah…. leganya aku, ini berarti aku masih punya 20an menit lagi untuk menyapa Dzat yang meberiku kesempatan melihat dunia.

Dengan malas kutarik tirai jendela kamar, tak biasanya semua pemandangan di depan mataku putih…, aku tak bisa melihat jauh, karena dalam remang-remang suasana fajar, kapas-kapas dingin yang berdansa dan beterbangan dari langit menutup pandagan. Oh salju lagi, ku kira kau sudah kapok ketika seminggu lalu aku mengutukmu untuk tak lagi turun. Aku juga mengira kau tak kan berani berjejer membentuk gumpalan besar, karena pasti kau takut dengan sepakan ku yang sekuat Andiek Vermansyah. Tapi setidaknya pagi ini kau telah membuktikan, aku tak kuasa mengentikanmu wahai salju. Seakan pagi ini kau mengatakan, “selamat pagi Dhee-Dhee, jumpa lagi dengan saya kapas putih nan cantik SALJU, aku dantang kemari dikirim oleh Tuhanku untuk memberi warna yang indah pada dunia.”

Sekitar lima menit kurang lebih aku tertegun dari jendela kamar, sebelum akhirnya aku harus berlarian ke kamar mandi untuk bersiwa, berwudu dan kemudian menunaikan solat subuh. Segera setelah aku bermunajat, langsung ku sambar kamera digital seola tak ingin melewatkan momen-momen ketika mobil-mobil yang terparkir di apartemen terkubur. Aku tak mampu lagi menemukan jalan, sampai akhirnya aku melihat bulldozer menyibak belantara salju dan menyemprotkan cairan garam, tapi baru saja mobil pengusir salju itu berlalu, sang salju putih kembali merapat berbaris melapisi sepanjang jalan. Kamera kecilkupun tak mau tinggal diam, ia mengabadikan pohon kecil kering yang hanya kelihatan pucuknya tenggelam di lumat kapas putih; jejak-jejak sepatu yang tak lagi jelas karena kembali tertimbun jejatuhan sang laskar putih; sepedaku yang sekan protes kepadaku karena kuparkir di luar apartemen; dan meja kursi taman yang 4 bulan terakhir tak lagi difungsikan karena tak satupun warga di komplek aparteman 1550 yang berani melawan dinginnya winter.

Setelah puas, mengabadikan momen yang tak lazim pagi ini, aku kembali memasang alarm setiaku. Aku ingin memberikan hak mataku untuk reses setelah tadi malam mereka ku paksa begadang dengan rutinitas tugas-tugas yang diberi professor-profesor di kampus. Oke, satu jam semoga cukup karena siang ini aku tak mau melewatkan bertemu saudara-suadaraku berjajar dan untuk bersimpuh patuh bersama dalam hari yang istimewa: Jumat. Jumat memang sepecial bagiku, aku biasanya duduk di shaf depan, karena kata Rosul, shaf depan akan dihitung pahalanya lebih besar. Di shaf depan pulalah aku bisa menyimak khotbah-khotbah luar biasa mengalir bagai oase yang menyuburkan hatiku yang tandus. Di hari Jumat pulalah aku selalu menyisihkan beasiswa bulananku untuk bekal di dunia dan di akhirat kelak. Aku dulu tergolong pelit dengan kotak amal masjid, sebelum akhirnya aku membaca tulisan hebat dari pemuda istimewa: Muhammad Assad dengan bukunya Notes from Qatar. Di hari jumat pulalah aku bisa membeli nasi masjid $ 5, dengan fasilitas lengkap, nasi kungin, ayam yang dipotong besar yang dimasak khas arab, salad dan semacam risoles jumbo. Aku biasanya menikmati sajian timur tengah yang lezat itu dengan mahasiswa-mahasiwa dari Malaysia. Aku terkadang iri pada mereka, seteiap kali aku bertanya “bagaiamana kamu bisa sekolah di kampus ini” dengan bangga mereka menjawab, “kami dapat beasiswa penuh dari master hingga Ph.D dari kerajaan”. Ah, lagi-lagi kenapa dalam urusan persaingan negaraku selalu dikalahkan oleh sudara mudanya, si negeri Jiran.  Padahal jika saja pemimpinku tidak korupsi, maka 20 % anggaran pendidikan yang negeriku miliki takkan pernah kekurangan untuk memberik pendidikan gratis bagi warganya bahkan hingga bergelar doktor sekalipun.

“tok…tok…tok….., Dhee-Dhe… are you still sleeping” 

ah siapa sih pagi-pagi mengetok pintu kamar, tak biasanya roommate ku membagnunkan ku pagi-pagi. Dan tak biasaya pintu ku dikteuk-ketuk seperi ini, apalagi kalau aku tak salah dengar, itu suara wanita.

dengan malas aku buka pintu kamar, dan astaga…. Seorang gadis jelita. Ada apa dia pagi-pagi ke apatememnku. Berani sekali dia, bukankah dia baru saja berkenalan tadi malam denganku pas acara pengajian di kampus dengan tema “The History of African American Muslims in the US”.

“Asheel… what’s up?” “Kenapa pagi-pagi sudah di apartemenku?....”

“Emang kenapa? Gak boleh? Gadis asal Iran itu malah balik bertanya, alih-alih malu karena mengetok pintu seorang bujang, eh malah dengan PD nya mengumbar senyum menggoda. Dari perekenalanku tadi malam, ia mengaku mahasiswa Ph.D tahun bertama merangkap sebagai Research Assistant Di College of engineering Michigan State University. “Are you from Indonesia, Dhe-dhe?” itu pertanyaan yang membuka perkenalaan kami malam tadi. “loh kok kamu tahu?” Jawabku sekenanya. “Iya, kita kan sama-sama jadi anggota di FB group Muslim Student Assosiation.”  Gadis jelita yang kini berumur 24 tahun sangat ramah, selalu ada aja pertnyaan yang bisa membuat percakapan mengalir.

“Dhe-dhe, kenapa kok malah melamun, heran ya kenapa aku bisa sampai di apartemen kamu? Lamunanku tiba-tiba pecah, “eh… maaf, silahkan duduk” dengan salah tingkah aku mempersilahkan dia duduk di ruang tamu, untuk mencegah langkahnya yang hampir saja masuk di kamarku.

“Aseel, langsung saja deh, ada tujuan apakah yang membawamu ke apartemenku?”

“begini, …..” dia kelihatan ragu untuk melanjutkan kalimatnya, aku sesekali mencuri pandang di wajah ayu timur tengahnya, namun sisanya aku lebih sering menundukkan kepala, menjaga pandangan. “Aku sebenarnya sudah lama memperhatikanmu, dari setiap pengajian kamu selalu hadir; di diskusi facebook group kami selalu aktif; kelihatannya pengetahuanmu tentang Islam lumayan bagus”

“Terimakasih Aseel, lalu hubungannya dengan kamu ke mari?” aku tetap berusaha memasang percakapan yang kaku, karena aku yakin tidak lah baik dua orang yang bukan mukhrim bercapak-cakap lama berdua, meski sebenarnya ada roommate ku tapi, dia malah berdiam di kamarnya.

“Aku dulu pernah bilang ke kamu di facebook bahwa meski aku sebenarnya lahir di Iran, tapi sejak aku berumur 5 tahun, keluargaku resmi berkewarganegaraan Amerika”

“Wow, menarik,… lalu?” terus terang aku sebenarnya menikmati perbincangan ini, tapi aku tetap mencoba untuk menjaga jarak dengannya.

“Orangtuaku sudah tua, mereka ingin sebelum mereka meninggal dunia, ia ingin melihat aku menikah dengan seorang pemuda Muslim yang taat. Dan aku melihat pancaran cahaya keimanan di wajahmu Dhe-dhe.”

Dalam hitungan detik, aku melambung tinggi, terbang melayang, mengitari samudera, hutan belantara dan pegunungan yang menjulang. Betapa tidak, pagi-pagi begini, dalam kondisi belum sarapan,  belum mandi pula, tiba-tiba dapat sanjungan gadis cantik nan anggun yang ku kenal tadi malam.

“Kedatanganku kemari, aku ingin menanyakan kepadamu, apakah.. eh….eh…eh… apakah  kamu, ehh…ehhh…. ehhh…bersedia menjadi suamiku?”

Aku tertegun, kali ini aku beranikan menatap matanya, kutatap dalam-dalam mata cokelat nan lentik, kali ini aku benar-benar tak mengindahkan perintah Tuhan untuk menjaga pandangan. Yang ada di benak adalah aku ingin benar-benar memastikan bahwa dia tidak sedang bercanda, tidak sedang berpura-pura atau hanya sekedar tebar pesona. Sebenarnya jujur saja, ketika aku berkenalan dengannya secara resmi tadi malam, aku benar-benar jatuh bersimpati kepadanya. Boleh dibilang aku jatuh hati pada semua yang ia miliki, kecantikannya, keanggunannya, kesalehannya, kecerdasannya semua sempurna. Tapi aku belum sampai pada tataran ingin memilikinya sebagai pendamping hidup.

“Kenapa diam, Dhe-dhe…. Kau harus memutuskan sekarang, karna jika tidak, pamanku telah menjodohkan ku dengan pemuda Iran kelahiran US, yang sungguh aku tak simpati dengan kelakuannya. Aku hanya punya waktu 10 menit sebelum aku meninggalkan apartemen ini Dhe-dhe.”

“Aseel, … menikah bukanlah perkara mudah. Bukanlah seperti engkau membeli buku di toko atau membeli buah di pasar. Banyak tahap yang harus dilewati Aseel.”

“Dhe-Dhe, bukankah kau percaya pada Tuhan? Apakah kau tega melihatkku menikah dengan orang tak kucintai? Dhe-dhe, cukup…..sekaranglah saatnya kau mengatakan bersedia atau tidak. Aku akan terima apapun keputusanmu”.

Aku memandangi langit-langit apartemnku, aku tak tahu kenapa pagi ini ia berubah warna menjadi kelabu, ia bergelommbang laksana ombak yang beriak, ia mengalir tenang bak sungai Batanghari di Jambi. Tetapi, dalam sekejap seolah aku mendapatkan jawaban dari nuansa hening yang kuciptakan, dari pesona langit-langit apartemen yang bereuforia. Dan aku pun telah yakin akan jawabnku.

“Aseel….. baru kali ini aku harus mengambil keputusan yang berakibat pada masa depanku, dalam waktu 10 menit. Baru kali ini pula aku harus memberi kepastian pada sosok wanita anggun yang aku kagumi sejak pertama aku bertemu. Tapi baru kali ini aku merasa begitu bahagia dan terpesona. Aseelllll… aku telah memutuskan bahwa… ehhh… bahwa aku …. Eh……..

“Tret…trettttt..treeeeetttttt…treeetttttt….treeeetttttttttttt…” 

“MasyaAlloh,…. MasyaAlloh, jam berapa sekarang. Astaghfirlullah… 12.23, Ya Alloh bukankah aku tadi pagi sudah pasang alarm untuk bangun pukul 10:00, kenapa alaramku baru bunyi pukul 12:23. Bukankah aku harus menunaikan ibadah sholat Jumat siang ini. Bukankah aku harus menafkahkan sebagian hartaku untuk sedekah hari ini.  Tanpa pikir panjang aku langsung menyambar handuk, dan berlari menuju kamar mandi. Aku tak mau hari ini ketinggalah solat Jumat.

-------------------------

Ah, aku tak bisa lagi mendefiniskan perasaanku tentang mimpiku tadi pagi. Sembari belarian mengejar jadwal bus nomor 39 yang melewati Islamic Center East Lansing, aku kembali teringat akan mimpiku tadi pagi. Ah, seandainya mimpiku tadi adalah nyata. Aku pun tak ketinggalan menyalahkan HP Samsung yang telah setia menemani selama 7 pengembaraan ku di Michigan. “Kenapa sih kamu tidak ontine banguninnya”; “Kenapa sih kamu gangguin aja, orang baru mau jawab ajakan menikah dari si Aseel”. “Kenapa gak menunggu sampai aku selesai jawab pertanyaannya, baru kamu teriakin tidurku”.

Sambil menunggu bus yang kelihatannya terlambat karena tak berani melaju cepat akibat jalan tertutup salju, kuambil ranting yang ada di pinggir halte. Kebiasaan yang aku lakukan jika bersalju adalah membuat tulisan, menggambar lambang cinta, menulis nama Dhe-dhe, atau yang lebih ekstrim membuat gumpalan salju besar-besar lalu kutendang sekeras-kerasnya seperti tendangan Syamsir Alam, DC-United. Edisi hari ini aku menuliskan nama, Aseel di atas salju. Aku sebenarnya mafhum se mafhumnya bahwa hanya membuang-buang waktu memikirkan wanita yang belum halal. Tapi, hati tak bisa disangkal, ia menggerakkan tanganku untuk mengukir nama itu.

Sudah lima menit aku menunggu, hembusan angin siang ini luar biasa menusuk tulang. Malam tadi aku sempat melihat perkiraan cuaca, dan siang ini diprediksikan -11. Tapi aku tak percaya, ini pasti -20 derajat Celcius. Hawa dingin memang luar biasa, ia bisa memaksakan pepohonan menggugurkan daunnya, memaksa sungai dan danau membeku, tupai-tupai jadi kehilangan tempat tidur yang nyaman, para kecoa mengungsi masuk menyelinap di apartemen-apartemen mahasiswa-termasuk di apartemenku 1550 G. Tapi aku heran di seberang jalan, ada aja anak-anak menantang dingin, mebuat snow angel, snow man, berlarian, bertimpukan salju satu sama lain, ada juga yang berenang-renang di atas hamparan putih nan indah. Ah, Amerika memang punya variasi hari yang berwarna.

Tak lama setelah menikmati pemandangan anak-anak berlarian di seberang jalan, perlahan-lahan bus bertuliskan 39 University Village. Dengan sigap aku menuju pinggir jalan pemberhentian, sambil menarik kartu bus pass dari dompet kulit hitam di saku. “Hi how are you doing” sapa tante sopir dengan ramah. Para pengemudi bus di sini, ramah-ramah setiap naik di tanya kabar terus kalau turun mereka bilang “have a good day”.  Kalau di Indonesia menurutku lebih ramah sih, karena para kernet selalu bertanya jika melihat kita berdiri di pinggir jalan. Pasar?... pasar?, atau “kemana bang?” kalau di sini gak akan mungkin pak sopir atau bu sopir bertanya “mau ke mana”, pokoknya Indonesia is the best lah pokoke.

“I am good, how are you” jawaban ini pokoknya pasti aku ucapkan setiap kali naik bus, meski aku tak pernah peduli apa yang akan dijawab para sopir. Akupun berlalu cepat mencari tempat duduk. Tapi sayang semua telah penuh, akupun memilih berdiri di dekat pintu tengah bus.  

“Dhe-dhe”… terdengar suara yang tak asing terdengar di telinga dari kursi bagian belakang bus.

“Aseel”….

#Bersambung#

New Missile Test Site

North Korea has been interested in developing nuclear weapons since the 1950s. Prior to the collapse of the Soviet Union, the North was able to receive large amounts of financing and technology to pursue their nuclear agenda. However, when the Soviet Union fell North Korea also entered into a period of devastating famines and economic ruin. Despite this the government, under the policy of Songun (military-first), continued to funnel as many resources as they could into their weapons program at the expense of the population's well-being. Today, they still suffer from chronic food shortages and their economic capacity is far smaller than in the 1980's but they have managed to spend billions on nuclear and ballistic missile technology.

Their 3rd nuclear test was on February 12, 2013 and had a suspected yield between 12-21 kt (similar to that of the bomb dropped on Hiroshima). The test was conducted underground in the northeast of the country and registered as a 5.1 magnitude earthquake. This test came a few months after a successful launch which the international community agrees was actually a long-range rocket test in the guise of a domestic satellite launch.

North Korea is one of the most militarized countries on Earth and the landscape is littered with military sties ranging from small outposts to massive secret bases. One of these bases is a missile test site, the Tonghae Satellite Launch Site, seems to be growing. It is located on the coast of the Sea of Japan (East Sea of Korea) and is surrounded by small villages and rugged terrain.

The site has multiple testing facilities and rocket stands. I seem to have found a new test stand in the process of construction. The image below shows you the site in 2010 (left) which is nothing but empty ground and the image on the right is from 2012. As you can clearly see, there is a large structure being built. The layout and design is indicative of a new test stand.

(click for larger image)

Coordinates: 40° 51' 29.47" N 129° 41' 11.56" E

Only time will tell what will happen with this new site, but if the past is any indicator North Korea is well on its way to advancing their missile technology with no signs of slowing down. 

--Jacob Bogle, 2/20/2013

www.JacobBogle.com

Facebook.com/JacobBogle

Twitter.com/JacobBogle

Internet Download Manager 6.15 Final Build 2 - Full Patch

Internet Download Manager (IDM) adalah salah satu dari sekian banyak software downloader yang sering kali di update, yang membantu kamu dalam urusan download mendownload. 

Gak perlu khawatir kalau kamu mendownload file yang ukuran besar karena semua versi IDM ini bisa mem-pause proses download dan menyambungnya kembali dilain waktu jika prosesnya terlalu lama (biasanya highest file up to 2 Gb).
Kini telah tersedia Internet Download Manager 6.15 Final Build 2 yang telah dilengkapi dengan Patch, sehingga menjadikan full version. Langsung aja sedot...

Screen shoot :

Download :

• Internet Download Manager 6.15 Final Build 2 (4,9 Mb)
• Patch

indahnya berbagi...

Semoga bermanfaat ^_^

Mengatasi Masalah Resolusi Display Windows 8 di Netbook

 

Tampilan yang sangat menarik dan berbeda dari versi Windows sebelumnya di Windows 8 adalah Start Screen, dengan bentuk kotak dan persegi panjang yang berwarna warni. Tetapi Start Screen ini tidak berfungsi untuk menjalankan aplikasi di Windows 8 apabila resolusi layar komputernya dibawah 1024 x 768 pixels.

Umumnya Netbook mempunyai resolusi 1024 x 600 pixels (dibawah persyaratan minimum Windows 8), dan ketika kita akan mencoba menaikkan resolusinya sudah tidak bisa lagi karena sudah maksimal.
Agar Resolusi Display Netbook Windows 8 dapat dinaikkan ada triknya, ikuti  langkah-langkah dibawah ini :

• Masuk ke Registry Editor (tekan logo windows+R, kemudian ketik Regedit)
• Pada HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE cari dword : Display1_DownScalingSuported (silahkan copas), gunakan ctrl+F untuk mempermudah pencarian.
• Double klik dan ubah nilainya pada Value data dari 0 menjadi 1, kemudian klik Ok.
• Lanjutkan pencarian kembali dengan menekan tombol F3, rubah juga Value data nya seperti langkah di atas sampai nilai semuanya benar-benar dirubah.

Screen shoot : 

• Kemudian restart Netbook.
• Setelah menyala kembali, klik kanan pada layar, dan pilih Screen Resolution, maka resolusi bisa dinaikkan dari 1024 x 600 menjadi 1024 x 768.

Sekarang semua Apps Windows 8 sudah dapat dijalankan.

indahnya berbagi...

Semoga bermanfaat ^_^

We are One but We are Many

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Dion Ginanto

Race and discrimination have become a serious debate in the US since this nation was formed. Even though, race by de jure has been abolished and has been considered the same among others; race and discrimination, however, by de facto can still be seen in daily life. In this article, I would like to take the ideas of the authors and make summary from books, articles and films that I learned from Diverse Students and Families class for three weeks about race and discrimination. This time I will discuss: what does it mean by race and discrimination, how it is constructed, what kinds of discrimination in education, and what connection to my own experience? 

Almost all articles, books and films in these three weeks define the meaning of race and discrimination. So, what exactly is race or discrimination? McKenzie (2009) correlates race and discrimination with narcissistic injuries. “Narcissistic injuries are defined as the psychological damage that results when a child’s narcissistic (i.e. self) needs for respect, understanding, and monitoring are denied” (McKenzie, 2009). In line with this, Lipman (2003) in her article asserted that the African American and Latino students are treated differently in some schools in Chicago. From her research, she found that African American and Latino are put in the probation schools where a very few white students are in school on probation. Mcintyre defines race and discrimination from different perspective. She connects race with whiteness. Whiteness is a system and ideology of white dominance that marginalizes and oppresses people of color, ensuring privileges for white people in this country (Mcintyre, 1997). Hall both from his movie and his article contended that race and discrimination are portrayed by the discourse that has been set on the media all the time. This includes the stereotyping by media that portrays young black male or Latino as criminals (Hall, n.d). In addition, Delpit created the meaning of race and discrimination from the perspective of both minority students and teachers. In her book, she criticized the discrimination of color students and teacher. “Too often minority teachers’ voices have been hushed: a certain paternalism creeps into the speech of some our children must be given voice” (Delpit, L., 2006). Smedley in Travis and Rosenblum (2012) also define race as the one major symbol and mode of human group differentiation employed extensively for non-European groups and even those in Europe who varied in some way from the subjective norm. From those various authors’ definition about race and discrimination, I can conclude that race/discrimination is a stereotype given by people (white) against minority i.e. African American, Latino or Asian and as the result those minority people got the different treatment in daily life or before laws.

Then we ask a question, how actually race or discrimination is constructed? There are some reasons behind the racism and discrimination are created according to the authors: discourse or stereotyping, assumption, society background, laws or government policy. The first cause of race or discrimination is discourse. Hall proposed the idea of discourse that can set up the knowledge of portraying someone. Discourse themselves construct the subject-positions from which they become meaningful and have effects (Hall, 2001). Therefore, the discourse that had portrayed African American and Latino long time ago, has influenced the representation of them in the eyes of White people. The second factor that creates the discrimination is the assumption. The assumption is a prejudice given to the color people. According to McKenzie (2009) there are at least six assumptions of white teachers against African American and Latino students: gangsters, freaks, criminals, devil children, demons, and mean children. The third cause of race/discrimination is society background. McIntyre (1997) posited that whiteness can progress along with the developmental continuum of where someone confronted on multiple level with the issues of whiteness and its meaning in contemporary society. The fourth reason behind racism is the laws or government policy. From Race: An Illusion film the cause of racism and discrimination is not physical appearance, but it is because of the law and policy. Further, Lipman (2003) in her paper reveal that the US policies further differentiate educational experiences by race, ethnicity, and social class and that the constellation of policies serves to regulate and control African American and Latino.

There are some discrimination that minority students get in the US, especially in education.  From the research, Lipman (2003) revealed at least five discriminations, inequality and racial oppression over African American and Latino students: inexperienced teachers, insufficient facilities, probation school, retention policy, high-stake standardized tests, negative perspectives against students. In line with this, as I mentioned before that African American and Latino students often experience narcissistic injuries (McKenzie, 2009). Also, the dominant philosophy and knowledge from Western without considering any non-Western perspective also can create the discrimination (Merriam, 2007).

Given all the definition of race and discrimination, I can connect to the discrimination in the place where I teach, senior high school in Indonesia. Race and discrimination in the US is not really different from the discrimination in my country. Even though we do not discriminate against students by their color, we do unconsciously discriminate against students based on their social status. For instance, the low Social Economic Status (SES) students do not have access to some good qualities of public school, quality teachers, quality resources, nor quality facilities. They need to pay a lot of money in order to get better quality in education that low SES student cannot afford.

All in all, the authors from articles, books and the films have the same perspective on race or discrimination that all stake holders: from teachers to government should have strong commitment to really eradicate racism and discrimination. From the background, perspective, and the theories of racism and discrimination, all authors agree that all students have the same privilege to get the same quality of education. What make difference among authors is they way they view the difference. McIntyre, McKenzie, and Delpit focus the discrimination from the teachers’ and students’ point of view, Lipman from the law and policy perspective, Hall both from his paper and film sees the difference form stereotyping or discourse perspective, while, Merriam, Travis & Rosenbulm see the difference from general point of view. To end up this article, I would like to wrap up the idea of the three week material that actually “we are one, but we are many.” Therefore it is now the time to create the equal law for all people and then we really apply the equity law in our life.

Reference

Delpit, L. (2006) Other Peoples Children: Cultural Conflict in the Classroom. New York: New Press.

Hall, S, (2001). Foucault: Power, Knowledge, and Discourse. In, Discourse Theory and Practice. A Reader. Eds., Wetherell, Taylor, and Yates. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Lipman, P. (2003). Chicago school policy: Regulating Black and Latino youth in the global city. Race, Ethnicity, and Education, 6(4), 331-355

McIntyre, A. (1997). Constructing an image of a White teacher, Teachers College Record v 98 (4).

McKenzie, K.B. (2000). Emotional Abuse of Students of Color: The Hidden Humanity in our Schools. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education.

Meriam, S. (2007). Non-Western Perspectives on Learning and Knowing. Krieger Publishing Company. (Ch.1)

Rosenblum, K. and Travis, T-M. (2013). The Meaning of Difference: American Constructions of Race, Sex, and Gender, Social Class, Sexual Orientation, and Disability. New York: McGraw-Hill. (6^th Edition).

Videos:

Race: An Illusion (on Angel)

Stuart Hall- Representation & Media

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6sbYyw1mPdQ

Learning from Outside: A Community Leader

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Dion Ginanto

The role of principal cannot be separated from the context of the community, because principals are supposed to understand what the community expects for the school. The principal should be able to develop relationships not only internally (faculty, staff and student) but also with the external community (parents, stakeholders, districts, and state and federal government), in order to create a positive educational climate.  The positive principal’s community leadership can have big impact on the school community, and therefore it can influence students’ success significantly. Thus, principals are encouraged to be actively engaged in the community activities as well as to become an influence in the community. To prepare myself to become a future leader, I will start to participate in the community activities while I am studying in college. As my first step, I attended the Mercy and Merciful activity held by the Muslim Students Association (MSA) at Michigan State University in order to gain deep information about the leadership skills and values applied in that organization. In this article I will discuss what I learned from MSA: The outside view of the school principal, the role of the principal in the community, addressing social justice in my leadership practice, and actions of community leadership practice.

The Outside View of the School Principal

            On January 24, 2013, I attended the meeting of the MSA members, who discussed “Mercy and Merciful in Islam”, the meeting is set like a seminar; it was opened by the president of MSA, and then it continued with discussion led by a speaker who is also a member of MSA. There were approximately 50 students who attended the discussion held in the Eppley Center, MSU. All the participants at that night were Muslims, yet often times the meetings were attended by non-Muslims. The speaker spent about 40 minutes presenting ideas about the Mercy of Merciful, citing the Quran (holly book of Muslim) and the Hadiths (guidance for Muslims from the prophet Muhammad); the audiences then continued with informal discussion.

            What is MSA? In order to get information about MSA, I browsed the MSA website, and I found the following about MSA:

MSA stands for the Muslim Students' Association. Its purpose is to bring Muslim students together on campus, and it tries to educate both Muslims and non-Muslims about Islam. Many MSAs across the nation have social, political, and educational activities to help achieve these goals. One thing that many MSAs have in common is the annual Islam Awareness Week. This Event varies from campus to campus but its goal is usually the same: to educate people about Islam and wipe away negative stereotypes about the beautiful religion. The MSA at MSU is more than just a group of people in an organization. It's a family of brothers and sisters in Islam. It strives to bring people together for the sake of God. (Anon: 2013)

In seeking a deeper understanding about MSA as one community organization outside school, I also interviewed the president of MSA: AM (I use initials for confidentially reasons). After the discussion in the meeting, I set up an interview appointment with her. She agreed to be interviewed using social media: facebook.com.

            I then asked her my first question: “What is the vision of MSA?” AM answered: “The vision of the MSA is to serve as an open platform for Muslims and non-Muslims alike to seek assistance, representation, community, and also growth.” In my opinion, the vision of MSA is very unique; even though MSA is a Muslim student association, MSA serves as an open platform to non-Muslims to seek assistance, representation, community, and growth. MSA is a very good community organization that I can use as one of the sources for my leadership as principal. Because I believe in being a good school principal, I am not only focusing on inside the building; I also need to focus on the outside community in order to create an effective school. 

The Role of the Principal in the Community

Flessa (2009) conducted research on four principals in an urban school in Northern California, and the result was really fascinating, because the four principals in the study used their discretion to distance the school from its surrounding community (from parents, basically), and they justified the distance by saying that the parental community was just too much trouble for there to be any measurable benefit from making connections beyond the schoolhouse walls. These four principals who kept distance from the community has made the urban schools they led never perform well.

The four perspectives of these four principals contradicted with the idea of Delpit (2006), who suggested that schools must revel in the diversity of their students and that of the world outside the classroom community. Khalifa (2012) also asserted in his paper that principals’ increased community presence helps develop and maintain culturally appropriate school and community leadership practices. In line with this, the MSA president uses her leadership skills to maintain the relationships and networks of MSA with the community outside campus. Moreover, MSA not only serves Muslim students; it also serves non-Muslim students. From my interview, I learned about three leadership values applied by MSA in maintaining its relationship with the outside community: collaboration, equity (open-minded), and trust.

a.     Collaborative

Writer  : How MSA can share Islamic leadership values to the members?

AM     : MSA shares Islamic leadership values by having executive board      members who have been put in place to represent those values to the best of their abilities and also offer and encourage new leaderships with our elections.

From the interview, I concluded that one of the leadership values that AM has is collaboration. By having shared leadership with the executive board members in order to represent these values to the best of their abilities in doing their programs, MSA has represented the collaborative values of the organization. Collaborative values have become very important in the organization, since these values can trigger and support a sense of belonging of the members to their organization.

The collaborative value is part of the ELCC standards # 4.1:Collaborate with families and other community members (Whitehead, Boschee, and Decker, 2013). Accordingly, as a strong principal, I will apply this value in leading my building to make outside relationship with the community. Collaboration among teachers, staffs, students, parents, and the community can promote the effectiveness of the school.

b.           Equity (open-minded)

An unequal learning opportunity can happen  in every place, whether in the west or the east part of the world. Therefore, all principals should have the equity value in leading their institution. In regard to the community perspective, every leader should be discouraged from discriminating against the students or parents. We cannot discriminate against the community based on their gender, race, language, culture, religion, etc. Lopez, Scribner, and Mahitivanichcha (2001) believes that “if parents felt genuinely welcome on the school campus, and are treated with respect and dignity, future involvement would be a likely possibility” (p. 272). Further, Lopez (2003) asserted that “school leaders must be prepared to work with individuals who are culturally different and help create learning environments that foster respect, tolerance, and intercultural understanding” ( Lopez, 2003 p.71).

AM in our interview also signaled the importance of the equity in the organization: 

Writer  : How do you share mercy values to non-Muslim students?

AM     : We share mercy through Islamic Awareness Week, Fast-a-Thon (where we encourage non-Muslims to fast for a day and we donate money for each person fasting), Project Downtown (where we give sandwiches to the homeless) and through different projects throughout the year.

The first activity mentioned above, Fast-a-Thon is promoted not only with Muslims, but also with those who are not Muslims. This indicates that MSA does not see religion as a divider in their institution; this also indicates how open minded the e-board of MSA is. The second activity, Project Downtown which gives donations to the homeless, also reflects the spirit of togetherness. Those kinds of activities are good examples to be applied on the school campus in order to promote the spirit of togetherness between schools and their the outside community.

c.               Trust

Chang (1993), in Khalifa (2012), contended that building trust in the community is the major challenge to developing meaningful collaborations. Therefore, as a school leader, I will develop my integrity to show my trust to my staffs, students, and the community. MSA at MSU tries to develop trust from the inside of their organization, to trigger further trust of the community (brother and sisterhood).  

Writer   : What are the principals’ values that MSA has in the organization?

AM      : We definitely value spiritual growth as well as social growth -- we encourage our members to become better Muslims but we would like to encourage a brother and sisterhood among our members to do that as well.

I believe if principals can put trust in all the elements of their school, a better and more positive climate in the school will come true.

Addressing Social Justice in My Leadership Practice

Theoharis (2007) summarized researchers’ ideas about leadership for social justice. He concluded that the tremendous success of schools is not only for White, middle-class, and affluent students but also needs to include students from varied racial, socio-economic, linguistics, and cultural backgrounds. In addition, Lopez (2003) asserted in his article that school leaders must be prepared to work with individuals who are currently different, and to help create learning environments that foster respect, tolerance, and intercultural understanding. Therefore, based on my observation of MSA as a community organization outside school, if I become a principal I will practice three kinds of leadership roles: social justice leader, community leader, and parent engager.

a.     Social Justice Leader

Theoharis (2007) defined the Social Justice Leader as a leader who makes issues of diversity (race, class, gender, sexual orientation, and other historically and currently marginalizing conditions in the United Sates) central to his/her advocacy, leadership practice, and vision. He also defined this leadership as the ability of a principal to address and eliminate marginalization in schools. Lopez (2003), contended that “school leaders should have an awareness of the effect of racism and how it intersects with other areas of difference such as gender, sexual orientation, disability, and class oppression” (p.71). Two activities exemplified by the president of MSA; Fast-a-Thon (that gives opportunities to non-Muslim to fast) and Project Down Town (that gives donations to the homeless) are the programs that can be adopted for implementation in schools. I do not suggest adopting activities that represent any kind of religions; instead we can adopt some activities that can enhance social based oriented that represent unity in diversities. Therefore, as a school leader I will promote equality and equity among teachers, students, and parents for example by giving training on diversity and social justice to the buildings and community, enhancing the staffs capacity, and strengthening school culture and community in order to raise all students’ achievement.

b.     Community Leader

Community Leader is one of the roles of the principal in the global era (Whitehead, Boschee, and Decker, 2013). Community as defined by Khalifa (2012) refers to structures, institutions, and relationships that operate in the spaces community members occupy. “Community” is performed in residences, markets, churches, Masonic Lodges, schools, and other neighborhood milieus”(p. 4). Furthermore, Carpenter-Aeby & Aeby (2001); Walker (2005) in Khalifa (2012), asserted that based on several studies, school leadership can play a role in community-oriented goals, improve the neighborhood community, and thus improve the lives of the students. Consequently, when I become a leader someday, I will apply my community leader role in leading my institution. I can endorse some activities that involve the community, such as: celebrating the Muslim days with the community, developing community in the school’s neighborhood, celebrating Indonesian independence day with the community, organizing donation day for the community in need, etc. I believe those kinds of activities can promote the involvement of the community in creating the successful school I hope to lead.  

c.     Parent Engager Leader

Recent research suggests that “parent participation often enhances student self-esteem, improves parent-child relationships, and helps parents develop positive attitudes toward schools” (Brown, 1998, in Lopez, Scribner & Mahitivanechcha, 2001). Theoharis (2007) reported that principals he observed were successful because of the warmth and welcoming climate of their schools and because of how the principals reached out to the community and families. Additionally, staff members and principals can create a welcoming environment for parents by building on their cultural values, such as stressing personal contacts, and communication while facilitating structural accommodations that encourage parental involvement (Scribner, Young, & Pedroza, 1999, in Lopez, Scribner & Mahitivanechcha, 2001). Accordingly, in being a parent engager leader in the future, I will advance parent engaging activities such as home visits, telephone calls to parents, creating parents’ social media group, creating parents’ fun activities, etc.

Actions of Community Leadership Practice

            “Because we are an inclusive and diverse organization, MSA does not have problems with discrimination, thank God” (AM-MSA president). As a future leader, I will obviously emulate the values that MSA has enacted as an organization: inclusiveness and diversity. In line with this, Lopez (2003) argued that today’s administrator must not only be able to navigate successfully the cultural divisions, but must also have a thorough understanding of political systems, intergovernmental relations, micro politics, community participation, interest groups, and theories of power and conflict in order effectively to do their job.

Therefore, I have already planned my actions in the future regarding to the leadership practice to the community: (1) parent engagement (home visits, intensive communications: telephone call, parental fun activities, parental training, making parent clubs, empowering parents to get involved in the schools activities, etc); (2) community engagement (community development activities, celebrating Independence Day with the community, celebrating Islamic days with the community, organizing donation days with communities, providing a welcoming environment, hosting school and community parties); (3) politics and bureaucracy involvement (understanding the constitution and regulations; making a good connections with the district leader, superintendent, legislators, etc.; performing seminars about bureaucracy with the staff and community); and (4) private sector involvement (encouraging the public sectors to have stronger cooperation and networks with the private sectors, making donations to the private sectors, inviting private sectors and trainers to school).

All in all, the role of the principal in the community is very important to create a successful school. Principals should understand the values of principals, the roles of principals and the actions of principal in the community. Principals should engage in community activities by always involving themselves in the schools’ neighborhoods. MSA-MSU, which I visited last week, is a good example of how roles and the values of leaderships are enacted in an organization.

Given the statements and examples above, there are some inquiries that need to be explored in future studies: (1) What are the possible resistances that principals may get from parents or the community? (2) What and to what extent are the possible resistances that staff members may have in opposing the principals’ policies in the community?, (3) What strategies do principals need to enact if they find resistances from both staff members and parents in the community? Last but not least, if we want to have a successful school, all principals should balance the relationships inside and outside the school community. Therefore, one of the roles of the principal is community leader. 

References:

Anon. (n.d). About us. Retrieved from http://msumsa.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=52&Itemid=64

Delpit, L. (2006). Other peoples children: Cultural conflict in the classroom. New York: New Press.

Flessa, J. (2009). Urban school principals, deficit frameworks, and implications for leadership. Journal of School Leadership, 19, 334-368.

Lopez G.R., Scribner J.D, & Mahitivanichcha, K. (2001). Redifining parental involvement: Lessons from high migrant-impacted schools. American Educational Research Journal, 38(2), 253-288.

Theoharis, G. (2007). Social justice educational leaders and resistance: Toward a theory of social justice leadership. Educational Administration Quarterly, 43(2), 221-258.

Khalifa, M. (2012). A re-newe-ed paradigm in successful urban school leadership: Principal as community leader. Educational Administration Quarterly, xx(x), 1-39.

Lopez G. R. (2003). The (racially neutral) politics of education: A critical race theory perspective. Educational Administration Quarterly, 39(1), 68-94.

Whitehead, B., Bjoschee, F., Decker, R., (2013). The Principal: Leadership for a Global Society; Los Angeles CA., Sage.